Saturday, 26 March 2016

First Hull Trains Franchise to Continue Until 2029

FirstGroup has welcomed the news that the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has
approved the application by the Group’s open access operator First Hull
Trains for a further ten year track access from 2019, giving the
business and its customers certainty of services until December 2029.

The
award-winning First Hull Trains recently scored the highest customer
satisfaction levels of any operator in the country and, as part of the
agreement, the successful application also enables the company to
purchase new bi-mode trains that can take full advantage of the benefits
of the electrified East Coast Mainline. First Hull Trains has also
pledged an additional half a million pound investment to enhance its
current fleet.

Commenting,
Steve Montgomery, FirstGroup’s Rail Division Managing Director, said:
“First Hull Trains is a great success story and its enduring high
customer satisfaction scores really demonstrate how open access can
deliver for passengers in certain markets. We’re pleased that the ORR
has granted us a further ten year period of operation as it allows us to
progress the plans that we have for new rolling stock and investment in
the line, allowing Hull to play its part as a key region in the
Government’s Northern Powerhouse proposals.”

Will
Dunnett, Managing Director of First Hull Trains, said: “The approval of
a ten year track access enables us to deliver our longer term plans,
including new bi-mode trains that will be faster than those we operate
today. We will also be able to increase our fleet to five units with
more seats on each, meaning a 50% increase in the number of seats for
passengers. The ORR’s approval of our track access until 2029 secures
the long term future of First Hull Trains, whilst at the same time
safeguards and enhances the region’s rail connectivity to the capital.

“These
are exciting times for our business and our region as we move towards
UK City of Culture status in 2017. Our current trains have served us
well and we intend to continue to invest in these units for the next
three years. We have just commissioned a project to refurbish our
on-board service facilities for the enhanced comfort of our passengers
as well as looking at ways to increase the capacity of our current
services. We will also be rolling out Passenger Information Screens on
all services as well as on-board CCTV to enhance security and peace of
mind for our customers.”

Last
year, First Hull Trains became the first operator in the UK to install
Passenger Information Screens fed by live real-time train running
information, as part of an industry trial to improve on-board passenger
information services. The screens on selected carriages give passengers
up-to-the-minute information on connecting services and stations.

Full
details of the new bi-mode trains will be available later in the year
and it is anticipated that they will enter service in 2020.

FirstGroup
is also involved in a separate application to the ORR on new open
access plans to operate five trains throughout the day each way between
London King’s Cross and Edinburgh, designed to compete with low-cost
airlines and open up rail travel between the two capitals to thousands
of new passengers. The outcome of the application is due later this
year.

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